No Sound Except for Laughter
by somedayangeline
Summary: Tylendel and Vanyel head out for an afternoon of winter fun.


The mid-afternoon light stole softly through the trees, lighting up the white-covered tops. A snowfall, which had begun dusting Valdemar yesterday had since ceased but had left plenty of powdery drifts to wade through for those who dared venture out. Around the two young men trudging through the unmarked snow, the only sound was the whistle of the wind and the occasional creak of a nearby tree. Despite his companion's assurances that they were **almost** there, Vanyel Ashkevron's legs were beginning to feel as if they had weights attached...

...not to mention that with each gust of wind, a new spray of snow fell off the trees and landed on Vanyel's face with the accuracy of an expert archer.

"Daydreaming again?" his companion, Tylendel, teased, causing Vanyel to snap out of his litany of silent complaints.

"I **still** don't see why we couldn't have ridden," Vanyel grumbled, as yet another gust sent needles of snow at him. Attempts to wipe them off were futile, as his sleeve was rapidly becoming damper with each swipe.

"Because it wouldn't be much fun for our mounts, hmm?" Tylendel reminded him. 'Gala and Star wouldn't thank us, if we forced them to carry us all the way out here. Besides, I promise you that when you..."

"...finally see where we're going, I'll understand that it will be worth it," Vanyel finished. 'Yes, but it won't matter much, will it, if I drop dead of exhaustion before I get there."

Tylendel widened his eyes in mock-alarm, and Vanyel thought for the thousandth time how lucky he was to have someone like him.

 _I only hope this lasts. He's amazing, especially when he's_ not _thinking about that stupid feud._

 _He has that look on his face which means that he's only_ half- _listening to me. Probably Mindspeaking with Gala. I wonder what that would be like. I know that he's told me that_ our _relationship is entirely special and that he wouldn't exchange it for anything, but still..._

"Care to share your thoughts?" he asked. "Distract me from my aching muscles and damp gloves? Give me something other than numb fingers to think about, please."

"Just that you look like a blackbird in the snow. Or a raven. A very petulant one at that," Tylendel said. "Not so much a peacock right now. Unless, it was...oh, a particularly, damp peacock."

"Yes, but if we were blackbirds or ravens, we'd have already reached this miraculous, mysterious destination," Vanyel pointed out. "Besides which..."

"...we're finally here," Tylendel said, halting in triumph. "Look."

Vanyel stopped, too at the edge of the hill that dropped sharply away and would leave them standing on air in just a few more steps, his gaze taking in the view before him. Below trees, so recently garbed in full autumn splendor, stretched their newly bare arms to the sky. Dollops of white capped the pines, as each breeze sent their branches bouncing.

"Hmm, I've never seen you at such a loss for words," Tylendel added, smiling.

"This is amazing," Vanyel said finally. Even a Bard might have trouble coming up with the perfect description on the spot, but he felt sure that Tylendel knew what he meant.

"Yes, but the best part is still to come." Tylendel veered off down what looked like a path in other weather. "There's a Waystation here, and here," he added, "is where we can rest and have lunch. But not right away."

" **Now** what do you plan to conjure up?" Vanyel asked, following him in.

"Oh...just...," Tylendel rummaged through a mound of covered blankets, "just this."

"A toboggan."

'Yes. Surely, you have these in Forst Reach."

"As a matter of fact, we do. In fact, Meke and I used to take ours out every first snow. Once he chipped a tooth. We expected Father to be furious when we returned, but he just laughed. Said he'd come a cropper himself when he was a boy sledding a few times himself."

"So he does have a sense of humor," Tylendel said. "Though a well-hidden one."

"True." At the thought of his father, Vanyel frowned, but soon smiled as his companion elbowed him. 'Come on, let's see how fast this thing can go."

The moment just after you arranged yourself on the sled, squashing yourself in behind the others, but before you launched off, felt like you were about to step off a cliff, but knowing that there was no going back, you committed yourself to plunging headlong, regardless of what ultimately happened.

Or, Vanyel realized, like falling in love.

Finally, when their appetite for fun was sated, the two returned to the Waystation for more substantial nourishment. Tylendel found a clean blanket in the cupboard, on which they could sit and consume their lunch. It had been necessary to bring along a basket of food, no matter how cumbersome it was, because as Tylendel pointed out even the most powerful Herald-Mage couldn't conjure a meal out of thin air.

"So what's winter like at the Collegium?" Vanyel asked, as they munched.

Tylendel smiled impishly. "Oh, you know. Snowball fights, song contests on nasty days, hot chocolate with marshmallows by the fire...That sort of thing. Of course, those kinds of things are more fun with two people."

"True. Does it get very cold?" Vanyel asked.

"It depends. Anyway, I'll keep you warm, if you want."

Vanyel smiled. "I'd like that."

It was getting late. Shadows striped the trees, and the sun seemed to have gone in permanently. Tylendel shivered.

"I think another storm is coming on. I can Sense it."

Vanyel glanced at the darkening sky, the clouds scudding in. "We're supposed to get even **more** snow?"

"Looks like it. Smells like it, too. We should be getting back."

They packed up and headed out.

Thwack! A snowball glanced off Vanyel's shoulder. He whipped around. "Thanks a **lot**."

"It wasn't me. Maybe it just fell off a branch," Tylendel said, looking innocent.

"No, I knew it was you because a branch wouldn't throw like a girl," Vanyel teased.

"Throw like a girl, hmm? I'll show you." Another snowball went whizzing back.

And for miles, the only sound that could be heard was laughter.


End file.
